Del’Shawn Phillips has taken a long detour before finding his home with the Houston Texans. Picked by the Falcons in 2019 as an undrafted free agent, Phillips’ stay in Atlanta only lasted a mere four months. But it didn’t take him long before finding another franchise in the form of the Buffalo Bills. However, bad luck refused to leave his side as Phillips’ rookie season ended in the practice squad of the Bills.

Well, the following season, he was finally handed his much-awaited NFL debut against the Jets. When it looked like Phillips’ career in the NFL would finally lift off. Guess what? He suffered a quadriceps injury that landed him in the injury reserves. Now, he never truly managed to prove his worth to the Bills. After getting waived from Buffalo, Phillips had brief stings at the Jets and Ravens. But right now, after jumping from one place to the other. Houston has accepted Del’Shawn Phillips with open arms.

Before embarking on his journey to the NFL. Phillips picked Illinois because “it was the best place to develop as a student-athlete.” And boy, did he impress during his brief sting with the Fighting Illini. In his first season itself, Del’Shawn recorded a team-high 85 tackles. Then, the following season, he was heavily rewarded for his contributions to the team. Phillips was handed the role of the team captain, and this motivated him a little further. As Phillips went on to record 95 tackles while landing in that season’s All-Big Ten Conference.

This makes us think about how his parents would react to Phillips’ trajectory in the NFL.

Who are Del’Shawn Phillips’ parents, Latashia Phillips and Shawn Gaines?

Well, there isn’t much information available about Del’Shawn Phillips’ parents. But we do know the names of those who raised a future NFL star. When the 6-foot-2 was listed on the Illinois roster, that’s when Phillips’ parents’ information came to light. He was born to Latashia Phillips and Shawn Gaines, who kept on motivating their son to pursue his goal of playing in the NFL.

No matter how difficult the goal was, Phillips always had his parents to encourage him. And most of those encouragements came from his hometown, Highland Park, in downtown Detroit. “Every time I see my surroundings—abandoned buildings or homeless people—I think I’ve got to do better so I can come back and fix stuff up or give back to these people. The same way they told me stuff or bought into me when I was a young kid,” said Phillips.

Now, after playing almost 5 years in the NFL, Phillips is kind of a veteran in the league. Although he has been in and out of franchises before, it doesn’t look like his stay in Houston will be short. As Phillips has already racked up 8 total tackles to his name for the limited opportunities he has received at NRG Stadium.